School Experience

• Founding Member of Tove Learning Trust and Chair of Trustees.
• Chair of Governors at Sponne since 2007.
• Extensive experience of being a governor over 20 years at Sponne, having seen the school through foundation, trust and then academy status.
• Previously Chair of Governors for 5 years at a primary school.
• National Leader of Governance (NLG) providing external reviews of governance together with mentoring and coaching for chairs and governing bodies.
• Supports in various school contexts on behalf of Local Authorities (LA).
• Supporting & challenging governors.
• Investigating officer for LA concerned with governance issues.
• Member of AIB (Academy Improvement Board) Grace Academy Coventry, and Lord Grey Academy Bletchley.

Business Experience

• 15 years as director and shareholder of a privately owned corporate finance company. Role included business recovery and restructuring, HR, debt recovery and premises management.
• 5 years as a business recovery specialist.

Tove Learning Trust

• CEO of the MAT leading 7 secondary schools across Northamptonshire, Milton Keynes and a regional hub in the West Midlands.
• Previously CEO of Grace Academy Trust from 2014-2019, leading 3 secondary schools across the West Midlands. Grace Academy merged with Tove Learning Trust in April 2019.
• Leads the strategic vision, growth and development of the trust; collaborating with other academies who share our aims and values.
• Proven track record of school improvement: drives improved outcomes for pupils striving for good or outstanding ratings
• Executive Headteacher at Sponne School, an outstanding academy.

Outcomes at Tove Learning Trust

• Led a team of School Improvement Directors to facilitate improvements in teaching and learning in maths and science, with improved GCSE and A level exam results and P8 scores improving year on year.
• Improved governance structures within academy schools, improving challenge and accountability.
• Implemented core service support to increase financial stability and legal compliance.

Outcomes at Grace Academy

• Improved teaching and learning standards significantly along with student outcomes; all 3 have made strong improvement.
• MAT was performing poorly and it was at risk of closing in 2015 by the DfE.
• Implemented an organisational restructure; appointed key leaders; remodelled the central team; effective structures put in place; financial responsibility and accountability established.
• Student numbers have improved strongly and local reputation of academies have strengthened.
• Supported challenging communities e.g. all have around 55% Pupil premium.
• One Academy had the Secretary of State visit in September 2015 as it was the most improved in the Birmingham area.

 NLE Experience

• NLE work at leadership level, Maths & English support through NSS (National Support School) at Coventry. Impact was that leadership improved in 2013-14, Maths results significantly improved and English went up.
• Worked with two other secondary schools in Northants long term – one for around a year with leadership and Maths support. All had positive impact with improvements in standards; both were through brokering arrangements with the LA.
• Continuing school improvement work with a range of schools demonstrating improvement.
• Consultancy work on Pupil Premium Reviews for schools within the region.

School Experience

• Governor at Primary school level for 10 years.
• Governor at Sponne since 2009. Previously Vice-Chair of Governors at Sponne from 2015 to 2017.
• TLT representative at Elizabeth Woodville School governors meetings.
• Member of TLT Pay and Performance Committee, including oversight of Headteacher Performance Management.
• Headteacher recruitment and selection.
• Safeguarding and safer recruitment experience.

Business Experience

• Works for the NHS supporting children with speech and language difficulties

Primary School Experience

• Primary School Governor for 8 years including Chair of Governors for 2 years.
• Previously member of various Governing body sub-committees.
• Working with Diocesan Board of Education with regard to church related priorities.
• Recruitment and selection of Headteachers & Senior Leaders.

School Experience

• Governor at Sponne for 16 years.
• Chair of Curriculum Committee for 12 years.
• Previous member of Development Committee for Sponne, taking an overview of all school matters offering direction to both the school management and other governors.

Qualification

• BSc joint honours—Economics & Accountancy.

Business Experience

• 20 years senior management experience of running retail operations for well-known high street businesses.
• Regional Director of the Ministry of Fisheries in New Zealand: stakeholder negotiations and involvement with Change Management practices.
• Managing Director of a Maori tribe’s fishing assets in New Zealand.